ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team hits the road for a third consecutive game on Monday, heading to Bethel's Robertson Center for a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest against the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4 MIAC | 4-6 Overall) at Bethel Royals (4-2 MIAC | 9-2 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals got a career-high games from Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) and Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis.)—not to mention a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double by Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.)—but they could not overcome a 12-point halftime deficit in falling to St. Olaf 85-80 Saturday at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
• Bethel: The Royals overcame a 14-point deficit with 15 minutes remaining, but St. Thomas closed out the game with a 9-5 run to hand BU a 69-66 conference setback Saturday afternoon at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• December 8, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's boasted three players in double figures—led by Nick Ogren (Stillwater, Minn.) with 11—in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Bethel. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' offensive arsenal was no match Bethel's long-range bombers, as the Royals drained 14 3-point field goals—including nine in the second half—and pulled away in handing Saint Mary's a 77-52 loss at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 31, 2015 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) scored a team-high 13 points and added five rebounds, but it was not enough to off-set the double-double of Bethel's Kyle Zimmerman, as Saint Mary's dropped a 79-59 conference decision to the Royals at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home on Wednesday, entertaining Concordia in a 5:45 conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym
• Bethel: The Royals return to Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Wednesday, hosting Augsburg in a 7 p.m. conference matchup
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Monday's game against St. Olaf is the third straight road contest for the Cardinals, who play their next two contests—vs. Concordia on Wednesday and vs. St. Thomas on Saturday—on their home court. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a career-high-tying 22 points in the Cardinals' 85-80 loss to St. Olaf last Saturday. Ferron also netted 22 points against Viterbo on Dec. 20, 2014. … Ferron's 22-point effort against the Oles marked the second straight game—and fifth time this season—the Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points in a game. … Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) has recorded three of the team's five 20-point performances this season. Ferron and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.)—who scored a game- and career-high 20 points against Augsburg on Dec. 9—accounted for the other two. … Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis.) also enjoyed a career offensive day against the Oles last Saturday, pouring in 14 points, while Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) chipped in 10 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. … Kaiser scored a career high-tying 22 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 24. Kaiser's 22-point showing vs. the Knights on Nov. 24 marked the second time in as many meetings with Martin Luther that the Cardinal senior has scored a career-best 22 points. … The Cardinals have had four different players lead them in scoring through nine games. … Kaiser and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) head into Monday's conference game against Bethel averaging in double figures at 13.6 ppg and 10.9 ppg, respectively. … Swiggum—the team's rebounding leader with 83 (8.3 rpg)—recorded his second double-double of the season, and 10th of his collegiate career, with his 10-point, 11-rebound effort against St. Olaf last Saturday. … Swiggum has had 10 or more rebounds in a game four times this season—including a season- and career-best 16-rebound effort against Martin Luther on Nov. 24. … All 11 of Swiggum's rebounds against Simpson on Dec. 19 came on the defensive end. … Swiggum owns six games of 20 or more points in his collegiate career. … The Cardinals equaled their season high with 10 3-pointers against Saint John's last Saturday. Saint Mary's also drained 10 treys against Augsburg on Dec. 9. … Kaiser—who finished with a season-high five 3-pointers against Saint John's on Jan. 2—has netted a team-leading 18 3-pointers, six more than Walbeck and Gleason. … Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 24—one more than Walbeck—and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) is the team-leader in blocks with 10. … Saint Mary's drained a season-high 24 free throws against St. Olaf last Saturday—going 24-for-30. … Saint Mary's Dec. 16 loss to Carleton snapped the Cardinals' two-game winning streak. It was also Saint Mary's first loss on its home court this season, dropping the Cardinals to 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Gym. … Saint Mary's 68-65 victory over Augsburg on Dec. 9 was its fourth of the season—equaling the win total from a year ago. … Saint Mary's has scored 80 or more points in three of its four wins this season—including a season-high 85-point effort in its 85-70 win over Macalester on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals' 85 points vs. the Scots marked the highest offensive output since Saint Mary's tossed in 87 in an 87-80 victory over Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010. … Saint Mary's is averaging 70.9 ppg. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high five players in double figures against Macalester on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Auggies with their Dec. 9 68-65 victory.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• After back-to-back road games, Monday's showdown with Saint Mary's is the first of three straight home games for the Royals, who are a perfect 7-0 on their home court this season. … Bethel enters Monday's game riding a 14-game home winning streak. … After opening the season with seven consecutive wins, Bethel has gone 2-2 in its last four—sandwiching losses to Saint John's and St. Thomas around victories over Macalester and St. Olaf. … The Royals 69-66 loss to St. Thomas marked their second straight three-point setback to the Tommies—the first a 66-63 setback in last season's MIAC Playoff championship game. … Derek Magnuson scored a team-high 21 points against the Tommies last Saturday. … Magnuson has now led the team in scoring in two of the Royals' last three games. … Bethel has had a player score 20 or more points in 10 of its 11 games—including a season-high 29-point effort from Magnuson against Northwestern on Dec. 1. … Magnuson, who leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (74, 6.7 rpg), has recorded three double-doubles this season. … Magnuson is one of five Royals who head into Monday's game against Saint Mary's averaging in double figures—Bryan Wojta (15.0 ppg), Trevor Hall (12.5 ppg), Bridgeport Tusler (12.2 ppg), and Kyle von Schmidt-Pauli (10.8 ppg) are the others. … As a team, the Royals have drained 81 3-pointers, and boast four players with 10 or more treys—led by Jared Nelson (20) and Schmidt-Pauli (14). … Hall is the team-leader in both assists (44) and steals (23), while Magnuson boasts a team-high 10 blocked shots. … The Royals head into Monday's game against Saint Mary's averaging 79.8 ppg and have scored 80 or more points five times—including a season-high 107 in a 107-95 win over Macalester on Jan. 2. … BU's 107 points against Macalester marked the first time the Royals have reached the 100-point plateau since the 2006-07 season.